Reliability Analysis and Updating of Excavation-Induced Ground Settlement for Building Serviceability Assessment

In this paper, the excavation-induced settlement determined by the KJHH model, a recently developed semiempirical model, is used to assess the serviceability reliability of adjacent buildings. The calculated settlement, considered as the load in the context of reliability analyses in this paper, is compared with a tolerable settlement, considered as the resistance herein. The reliability of the adjacent building against “damage” (defined herein as the violation of serviceability requirements such as having intolerable settlement) is first analyzed and the probability of exceedance (i.e., exceeding the tolerable settlement) is calculated. Furthermore, as the excavation proceeds, observed settlement at the current excavation stage is used to update the prediction of settlement at subsequent stages, and the probability of exceedance is updated accordingly.     

Has the burden and distribution of PCBs and PBDEs changed in European background soils between 1998 and 2008? Implications for sources and processes

Background soils were collected from 70 locations on a latitudinal transect in the United Kingdom and Norway in 2008, ten years after they had first been sampled in 1998. The soils were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCs), to see whether there had been any change in the loadings or distributions of these persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The same transect has also been used to sample air between the mid-1990s and the present, so the air and soil spatial and temporal trends provide information on air-soil transfers, source-receptor relationships, long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT), and recycling phenomena. Comparisons of the 2008 and 1998 data sets show a general decline for PBDEs in surface soil, and a smaller averaged net decline of PCBs. Changes between the years were observed for total POP concentrations in soil and also for correlations with site and sample characteristics assumed to affect those concentrations. POP concentrations were correlated to distance and strength of possible sources, a relationship that became weaker in the 2008 data. Fractionation, a commonly discussed process for the global cycling of POPs was also lost in the 2008 data. As in 1998, soil organic matter content continues to have a strong influence on the loadings of POPs in surface soils, but changes in the PCB loads were noted. These factors indicate an approach to air-surface soil equilibrium and a lessening of the influence of primary sources on POP concentrations in soil between 1998 and 2008.     

Myocardial blood flow quantification from MRI by deconvolution using an exponential approximation basis

We have evaluated the use of deconvolution using an exponential approximation basis for the quantification of myocardial blood flow from perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance. Our experiments, based on simulated signal intensity curves, phantom acquisitions, and clinical image data, indicate that exponential deconvolution allows for accurate quantification of myocardial blood flow. Together with automated respiratory motion correction myocardial contour delineation, the exponential deconvolution enables efficient and reproducible quantification of myocardial blood flow in clinical routine.     

Classification of unilateral vocal fold paralysis by endoscopic digital high-speed recordings and inversion of a biomechanical model

Hoarseness in unilateral vocal fold paralysis is mainly due to irregular vocal fold vibrations caused by asymmetries within the larynx physiology. By means of a digital high-speed camera vocal fold oscillations can be observed in real-time. It is possible to extract the irregular vocal fold oscillations from the high-speed recordings using appropriate image processing techniques. An inversion procedure is developed which adjusts the parameters of a biomechanical model of the vocal folds to reproduce the irregular vocal fold oscillations. Within the inversion procedure a first parameter approximation is achieved through a knowledge-based algorithm. The final parameter optimization is performed using a genetic algorithm. The performance of the inversion procedure is evaluated using 430 synthetically generated data sets. The evaluation results comprise an error estimation of the inversion procedure and show the reliability of the algorithm. The inversion procedure is applied to 15 healthy voice subjects and 15 subjects suffering from unilateral vocal fold paralysis. The optimized parameter sets allow a classification of pathologic and healthy vocal fold oscillations. The classification may serve as a basis for therapy selection and quantification of therapy outcome in case of unilateral vocal fold paralysis.     

Quantification of peptides for the monitoring of protease-catalyzed reactions by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using ionic liquid matrixes

Ionic liquid matrixes (ILM) have been shown to allow very homogeneous sample preparations, facilitating relative quantifications using internal standards in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). In the present work, the ability to perform quantifications of peptides without using internal standards in these matrixes was investigated. Linear correlations between peptide amount and signal intensities could be observed when increased molar matrix-to-analyte ratios were applied. The dynamic range of linearity was approximately 1 order of magnitude. The method was applied successfully to monitor the time-dependent evolution of substrates and products in trypsin-catalyzed digests of single peptides and peptide mixtures. Thus, ionic liquid matrixes allow quantitative MALDI-MS without the need for internal standards, making the method a suitable tool for the fast screening of new enzymes or the search for substrates or inhibitors.     

Phase stability investigations of the palladium-cadmium system: part i. thermodynamic studies

The vapor pressure of cadmium in palladium-cadmium alloys was determined between 830 and 1350 K and between 33 and 65 at. pct Cd by two different isopiestic methods. An analysis of the resulting partial molar quantities of Cd in the β₁-phase in terms of Chang's theoretical model for the Ll₀-structure yielded a disorder parameter α= 7 × 10^-4 and a second-nearest neighbor parameter η = 0.75 at 1073 K. Available literature data for the thermodynamic activities of Cd in the α-phase (solid solution of Cd in Pd) were evaluated using a subregular solution model. By combining these values with the present experimental data, all relevant partial and integral thermodynamic properties for the α- and β₁-phase could be derived. At the stoichiometric composition of the β₁-phase, values of ΔG = -38.0 kJ(g-atom)^-1 and ΔH = -53.7 kJ(g-atom)^-1, referred to Pd(s) and Cd(l), were obtained for a temperature of 1073 K. Y. MAA, formerly Graduate Student, Materials Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Y. A. CHANG, formerly Professor of Materials Engineering and Associate Dean for Research, Graduate School, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee W. SCHUSTER, formerly a Postdoctoral Research Associate, Materials Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.